West Ham United may have to act swiftly if they are to land Paris Saint-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
What's the word?
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the reliable source revealed that the 25-year-old is also attracting interest from La Liga side Sevilla, with a departure seemingly on the cards with just a year remaining on his current deal at the Parc des Princes.
Discussing that rumoured interest from the Spanish outfit, Jones stated: "They’re a top team themselves. They weren’t really expecting much competition to sign him, so they’ll want to try and conclude their own negotiations as soon as possible. So West Ham will have to move fast to try and sign him.”
Hammers boss David Moyes has recently revealed that talks are "progressing" regarding a deal to bring the German ace to the London Stadium, albeit with concerns over whether the east London outfit will be willing to pay his reported €20m (£17m) asking price.
Complete player
The search for a new centre-back has been heightened following the recent defeat to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, with Moyes having been forced to deploy young full-back Ben Johnson in that role due to a number of injury concerns.
The typically reliable Craig Dawson has missed the opening two games of the season with a thigh issue, while veteran brute Angelo Ogbonna is not yet back to full fitness after having missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury.
Those woes have been compounded by the loss of summer signing Nayef Aguerd, with the Moroccan colossus potentially set to be out until the new year after recently undergoing ankle surgery, while Issa Diop has joined Fulham on a £15m deal.
In Kehrer, however, the Premier League outfit could well have found an ideal solution to their defensive concerns, with the £19.8m-rated man also providing the benefit of being able to slot in at right-back if required.
Such versatility and quality has seen him dubbed a "complete player" by national team boss Hansi Flick, with it no real surprise to see that there is such clamour for his services this summer.
While largely reduced to a bit-part role during his time in Paris, the £78k-per-week ace has still racked up an impressive tally of 128 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 powerhouse, having joined the club from Schalke back in 2018.
The 6 foot 1 man has particularly impressed due to his quality in possession, as he notably ranks in the top 1% for pass completion among centre-back's across Europe's big five leagues, with that record significantly better than the likes of Dawson (top 60%), Aguerd (top 19%) and even Kurt Zouma (top 24%).
That ball-playing trait is also rubberstamped by the fact that he ranks in the top 1% for progressive passes received, showcasing his instinctive knack for progressing play up the pitch with an incisive forward pass.
The 20-cap ace also possesses quality in a defensive sense, however, as he averages 11.64 pressures per 90, with that aggressive approach also far superior to that of Dawson (5.84), Aguerd (6.33) and Zouma (4.68).
While it may prove tough to tempt Kehrer into making the switch to England amid interest from Spain, Moyes and co should seemingly do all they can to snap up a player who could prove a complete, defensive asset for the Hammers.